(C) Verite News New Orleans This story was originally published by Verite News New Orleans and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . NOLA-PS enrollment is expected to decline next year. What will that mean for funding? [1] ['Minh Ha', 'More Minh Ha', 'Verite News'] Date: 2024-03-27 NOLA Public Schools officials expect about 600 fewer students in the district next fall, following a trend of declining enrollment. Because some of the state funding the district receives is calculated based on student enrollment, that means that in the next fiscal year, the city would lose $8.1 million, according to projections presented at an Orleans Parish School Board meeting earlier this month. However, the school board has more than hedged those losses by maintaining its property tax rates earlier this year, which will bring in about $30 million in additional local tax revenue. As a result, funding per student will likely increase by about $800 beginning this fall, according to district estimates. “It’s positive overall,” NOLA Public Schools Chief Financial Officer Stuart Gay said about the projected funding allocation at the meeting. “We do have an increase. We’re getting up into the $12,000 range on the average per pupil as we move into [fiscal year 2025] and beyond.” In Louisiana, public schools rely on a per-pupil funding model, which includes local and state funding for each student they enroll. In New Orleans, the district allocates money through a formula that includes a base rate and additional funds depending on the grade and education needs of individual students. In an interview with Verite News, Gay said this extra funding may help schools better serve students with specific needs, such as the city’s English learner population, which has grown slightly in the past few years. Kenneth Ducote, executive director of the Greater New Orleans Collaborative of Charter Schools, said the extra funding will allow schools to offer higher teacher salaries and spend more money on special programs. The extra money will also help schools with the rising costs of insurance, maintenance and utilities, Ducote said. The expected funding increase could also help offset the loss of federal pandemic aid that served as the district’s emergency relief fund after sales taxes declined during COVID-19 shutdowns, Gay said. Fewer students…fewer schools? As New Orleans’ student population continues to shrink, schools will see an overall funding decrease in upcoming years, said Alvin David with New Schools for New Orleans, a nonprofit focused on improving education. An analysis published earlier this year by New Schools for New Orleans found that enrollment in the district has declined by more than 3,600 students, or 7%, since 2019, with kindergarten enrollment dropping 20% since 2014. That’s in part due to a decrease in the number of children born in the city, said Dana Peterson, CEO of New Schools for New Orleans. Examining federal statistics, the group found that the number of live births in New Orleans has declined by 20% since 2015. The city saw only 4,045 births in 2022 — the fewest since Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Peterson said enrollment decline is not unique to Orleans Parish or Louisiana. He pointed to an outmigration both the city and state are experiencing, which he said will also affect enrollment in the coming years. This school year, New Orleans schools have an 88% “fill rate,” meaning about 3,000 seats are vacant. Though that fill rate is an improvement over previous years, empty seats could still strain school budgets, making it difficult for district schools to cover maintenance and custodial costs, Gay said. To tackle its declining student population, the district adopted a “district optimization” policy last year, acknowledging that some charter schools may have to consolidate or even close in a process sometimes called “right-sizing.” “Part of the right-sizing has to do with just having people in the right buildings,” Gay said. “We don’t want a school that’s 250 kids to have a 180,000 square-foot facility that they can’t pay for because the costs are too high.” Right-sizing will allow schools to share a building and split costs, Gay said, leaving them with more money to invest in students. Peterson said consolidations are sustainable — lower upkeep costs mean hiring more quality teachers and more resources and programming to meet the needs of young people. This also means higher fill rates across district schools, he said. In 2022, InspireNOLA consolidated Pierre A. Capdau Charter School and McDonogh 42 Elementary Charter School. Last year, the operators of Mildred Osborne Charter School and Akili Academy in New Orleans also merged, forming a new school. Gay said these schools have seen their enrollment numbers go up since their mergers. Despite the projections, Gay said the district could bounce back. “I think [enrollment rates are] certainly going to increase … we might just see a different population over time rather than a decreased population,” Gay said, pointing to the school district’s increase in English learners. “The better we get at welcoming those folks, getting them into the system, getting them up to speed, helping them with language and interpretation and all of that … that will help stabilize the system a bit.” Related Republish This Story Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license. 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